Week 1 (January 7-11) 7 (A) Welcome back.
Tell stories about our vacations.
What makes certain stories stick in our minds?
Read "The Stinky Cheese Man"
What makes a story a story? how is it different from a poem or an essay?
HW: Read (or re-read) Alice, Chapter VI: "Pig and Pepper"
8 (B) Discuss Alice, Chapter VI: "Pig and Pepper"
Read "The Stinky Cheese Man"; review the elements of a story
Discuss how these story elements apply to "Pig and Pepper"
HW: Write a character profile: Imagine a character you would like to include in a story. On a sheet of paper, write or type the following details about him/her/it: Name, age, gender, appearance, special gifts or qualities, living situation. Also include the following: What is your character most passionate about? What is your character confused or conflicted about? When is your character most uncomfortable?
9 (C) In-class writing (Composition Notebooks), sharing
Define a specific setting for your character in which he or she is most uncomfortable. Write a scene in which the character in the character profile overcomes his or her uncomfortableness.
HW: Read Alice, Chapter VII: "A Mad Tea-Party" CEOs announced!
10 (D) Discuss "A Mad Tea-Party"
HW: Write a Personal/Professional Profile (In a detailed paragraph of 5-6 sentences, describe your ideal "job" for the learning teams, plus your qualifications for that job; include a brief story/example about a challenge or obstacle you have faced or problem you have solved that will illustrate your qualifications).
Typed is best -- bring five copies, if you can.
CEOs should write a Vision Statement for your team: What are the most pressing problems you would like to solve or contributions you would like to make to our learning in Language Arts? In other words, if you could focus on one or two things to make this class the best it can be, what would you do? What are the "jobs" you will need on your team in order to accomplish this? What other qualities will you look for?
11 (E) Learning Teams (5A); 5B: Wordskills, Unit 3
HW: 5A, Complete Unit 3; 5B: Do Wordskills, Unit 3, parts A and B (pp. 35-39); prepare for interviews, bring completed profile (5 copies) or vision statement (2 copies)
Week 2 (Jan. 14-18) M (F) 5A: Review Wordskills, Unit 3; 5B: Interviews for Learning Teams
HW: Independent Reading T (A) Go over vocabulary work; review Denotation and Connotation
Examples: childlike/childish
HW: Read AliceAdventures in Wonderland, Chapter VIII: "The Queen's Croquet-Ground"
W (B) Discuss "A Mad Tea-Party" (finish) and "The Queen's Croquet-Ground"
Why does understanding connotation and denotation matter? How does it allow you to understand a story more deeply and thoroughly?
In your Composition Notebook, choose 3 words from "Pig and Pepper," "A Mad Tea-Party," or "The Queen's Croquet-Ground" and explore how these layers of meaning affect your understanding of the story.
HW: Study for vocabulary quiz
Th (C) Vocabulary quiz
HW: Read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter IX: "The Mock Turtle's Story"
F (D) Discuss "The Mock Turtle's Story"
Continue vocabulary work in Alice; discuss "The Mock Turtle's Story"
HW: Independent Reading
Note: Finish Word Explorations (Connotation and Denotations) if not completed in class. See instructions below.
Word Explorations
Choose three words that interest you from the last three chapters of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ("Pig and Pepper," "The Mad Tea-Party," and "The Queen's Croquet-Ground."
Write down the sentence for each word you have chosen, underlining the word that interests you. Be sure to include the page number.
Look up the word in the dictionary and write down the denotation (definition) that fits the sentence you copied from Alice.
Brainstorm synonyms and associated meanings (connotations) related to the word you have chosen. These are often feelings or ideas associated with the word, but not actually part of the definition.
Using the information about the word's meaning that you have uncovered, explain in your own words the meaning of the word in the context of the sentence (note: you may have to look at more than just one sentence to get a sense of the context of what is happening).
Repeat this process for each of the three words/sentences you have chosen. Due on Tuesday.
7 (A) Welcome back.
Tell stories about our vacations.
What makes certain stories stick in our minds?
Read "The Stinky Cheese Man"
What makes a story a story? how is it different from a poem or an essay?
HW: Read (or re-read) Alice, Chapter VI: "Pig and Pepper"
8 (B) Discuss Alice, Chapter VI: "Pig and Pepper"
Read "The Stinky Cheese Man"; review the elements of a story
Discuss how these story elements apply to "Pig and Pepper"
HW: Write a character profile: Imagine a character you would like to include in a story. On a sheet of paper, write or type the following details about him/her/it: Name, age, gender, appearance, special gifts or qualities, living situation. Also include the following: What is your character most passionate about? What is your character confused or conflicted about? When is your character most uncomfortable?
9 (C) In-class writing (Composition Notebooks), sharing
Define a specific setting for your character in which he or she is most uncomfortable. Write a scene in which the character in the character profile overcomes his or her uncomfortableness.
HW: Read Alice, Chapter VII: "A Mad Tea-Party"
CEOs announced!
10 (D) Discuss "A Mad Tea-Party"
HW: Write a Personal/Professional Profile (In a detailed paragraph of 5-6 sentences, describe your ideal "job" for the learning teams, plus your qualifications for that job; include a brief story/example about a challenge or obstacle you have faced or problem you have solved that will illustrate your qualifications).
Typed is best -- bring five copies, if you can.
CEOs should write a Vision Statement for your team: What are the most pressing problems you would like to solve or contributions you would like to make to our learning in Language Arts? In other words, if you could focus on one or two things to make this class the best it can be, what would you do? What are the "jobs" you will need on your team in order to accomplish this? What other qualities will you look for?
11 (E) Learning Teams (5A); 5B: Wordskills, Unit 3
HW: 5A, Complete Unit 3; 5B: Do Wordskills, Unit 3, parts A and B (pp. 35-39); prepare for interviews, bring completed profile (5 copies) or vision statement (2 copies)
Week 2 (Jan. 14-18)
M (F) 5A: Review Wordskills, Unit 3; 5B: Interviews for Learning Teams
HW: Independent Reading
T (A) Go over vocabulary work; review Denotation and Connotation
Examples: childlike/childish
HW: Read Alice Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter VIII: "The Queen's Croquet-Ground"
W (B) Discuss "A Mad Tea-Party" (finish) and "The Queen's Croquet-Ground"
Why does understanding connotation and denotation matter? How does it allow you to understand a story more deeply and thoroughly?
In your Composition Notebook, choose 3 words from "Pig and Pepper," "A Mad Tea-Party," or "The Queen's Croquet-Ground" and explore how these layers of meaning affect your understanding of the story.
HW: Study for vocabulary quiz
Th (C) Vocabulary quiz
HW: Read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter IX: "The Mock Turtle's Story"
F (D) Discuss "The Mock Turtle's Story"
Continue vocabulary work in Alice; discuss "The Mock Turtle's Story"
HW: Independent Reading
Note: Finish Word Explorations (Connotation and Denotations) if not completed in class. See instructions below.
Word Explorations